Apps for Reading Standards: Foundational Skills (K–1)

The goal of the next few blogs is to give the reader as many apps as possible to meet the Reading Standards.

Core Standards (PDF download) These standards are directed toward fostering students’ understanding and working knowledge of concepts of print, the alphabetic principle, and other basic conventions of the English writing system. Instruction should be differentiated: good readers will need much less practice with these concepts than struggling readers will.

Kindergarten Print Concepts

Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print:

Follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page-by-pagE

Recognize that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters

Understand that words are separated by spaces in print

Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

Find Match Alphabet ($1.99) An application designed for early childhood and preschool development which challenges children to search, identify and match alphabet letters and numbers.

Read Me Stories (Free) allow users to sample books prior to purchase. Highlights the individual word spoken if user wants the story read to him or her.

Read me stories 30 ($1.99) A library of 30 educational and entertaining books. Highlights the individual word spoken if user wants the story read to him or her.

First Grade Print ConceptsDemonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print:

Recognize the distinguishing features of a sentence (e.g., first word, capitalization, ending punctuation).

Sentence Builder ($5.99) Designed to help elementary-aged children learn how to build grammatically correct sentences. Explicit attention is paid to the connector words that make up over 80% of the English language. Three different option levels keep track of student practice.

Word Blocks (Free, for the limited edition) Dolch words are presented in blocks; students need to put the scattered blocks into a sentence. The blocks give a capital letter but it does not give a punctuation mark.

Language Builder ($5.99) Mobile Education Tools has put out a number of quality apps. This app not only helps improve sentence formation but also helps improve receptive and expressive language skills, through its recording capabilities.

Vicki Windman is a special education teacher at Clarkstown High School South.